Santenay Premier Cru 2019 Hospices de Beaune, Cuvée Fouquerand, 0,75l.

Santenay Premier Cru 2019 Hospices de Beaune, Cuvée Fouquerand, 0,75l.

The history of the “Hospices de Beaune”

The history of the Hospices de Beaune tradition goes back to the eponymous hospital for the poor and sick established in Beaune in the 15th century. Over the centuries, this hospice in the middle of the best vineyards in Burgundy received many of the best sites through donations and inheritances from well-off winegrowers and was soon able to cover its costs by selling wine. Even today, the proceeds from wine sales still benefit the hospital and other charitable organisations.

The event

And November of the year is already approaching, with the traditional wine auction taking place on the third weekend of the year. On the evening before the auction, the wines are tasted by wine critics and wine merchants, while wine merchants and connoisseurs from all over the world travel to the auction itself. Tickets and the right to take part in the auction are highly coveted. On the third day, the traditional “Pauleé of Mersault” brings the event to a close. The auctioned wines are left to mature in barrels for 18 to 24 months before being bottled and delivered two years later in autumn.

The 159th Hospices de Beaune 2019

Decision of the committee

The 159th Hospices de Beaune will be remembered for a remarkable decision announced by the “Hospices de Beaune” committee for this year’s wine auction. This year, only the best quality wines will be included in the auction and the best selected wines will later be labelled with their own traditional labels.

The auction house Christie’s (one of the most traditional and well-known auction houses in the world) will organise the auction from start to finish this year.

The committee of the “Hospices de Beaune” has announced another remarkable decision for this year’s wine auction: from 2019, only 40% of the yield will be released to Christie’s auction house for auction, with the remaining 60% being withheld from bottling until the autumn of 2021. Only then will the remaining 60% be auctioned off by Christie ‘s, which is likely to fuel the high demand. As expected, only registered members will be able to participate in the first tranche of “Hospices-de-Beaune Premium Wines”.

The 2019 vintage

2019 was an exciting vintage for the winegrowers, as the weather conditions – a rainy but mild spring and then a warm summer – could only be optimised with experience and skill. “Quality over quantity” was the motto,

and as a result, some of the best Hospices-de-Beaune premium wines have matured despite lower yields.

The famous wine critic Michael Broadbent writes about this:

We are not witnessing the end of the world in 2019, but a vintage that will surely go down in history. This year’s weather mix initially gave many winegrowers a headache, but ultimately it is here that the true value of tradition and knowledge in the “Hospices-de-Beaune premium wines is revealed.